When It's Dark Out

Recording and production

Recording sessions took place during 2014 to 2015, with the executive production work that handled by G-Eazy himself, alongside with his frequent collaborator Christoph Andersson and the southern hip hop record producer Southside. The album also would include some additional production from OZ and Michael Keenan, among others. G-Eazy spoke about expressing his feelings towards his fans about the sounds and how excited he was with this album. When It’s Dark Out was constructed to sound like it could accompany a horror movie as its soundtrack. During recording and production G-Eazy stated he was influenced by both Wes Craven and Tim Burton, which is why it features many piano loops and “foggy synths” throughout the entire album.

Promotion

The album's first promotional single, called "You Got Me" was released on August 17, 2015. The song was produced by Southside and Christoph Andersson.

The album's second promotional single, called "Random" was released on October 29, 2015. The song was produced by OZ. The song peaked at number 94 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The album's third promotional single, called "Sad Boy" was released on November 26, 2015. The song was written and produced by Henry Daher.

Singles

The album's lead single, called "Me, Myself & I" was released on October 14, 2015. The song features as a duet track between G-Eazy and American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha, who wrote this song, with the production that was provided by Michael Keenan. The song peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it as G-Eazy's first top 10 hit and his highest charting single to date. The song also became Rexha's third Billboard Hot 100 single in her career as the featured artist, and the fourth for her songwriting, writing songs such as "The Monster" (by Eminem featuring Rihanna), "Hey Mama" (by David Guetta) and "Take Me Home" (by Cash Cash).

"Order More" was first released as the album's promotional single on November 13, 2015. The song features guest vocals from a recording artist Starrah, with the production that was handled by DJ Spinz. "Order More" was officially remixed, featuring Lil Wayne and Yo Gotti, which was released on February 18, 2016, as the album's second single.

"Drifting" was released on April 17, 2016, to rhythmic radio as the album's third single. The song features guest vocals from Chris Brown and Tory Lanez, with the production that was handled by Cashmere Cat, Mssingno and Happy Perez. The song peaked at number 98 on the US Billboard Hot 100, prior to its release as a single.

"Some Kind of Drug" was released on November 16, 2016, as the album's fourth single. The song features guest vocals from Marc E. Bassy, with the production that was provided by Rice 'N Peas, with additional production provided by Christoph Andersson and G-Eazy. It has since peaked at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception

When It's Dark Out was met with generally positive reviews by critics upon its release. Billboard gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, and noted that "a few blatant crossover-R&B attempts feel faceless, but they're largely outliers on an album that gives this former greaser novelty three dimensions". Neil Yeung of AllMusic believed that the 17 tracks were "addictive without it ever growing stale" and commended G-Eazy for how he "executes flawlessly with the shrewdness befitting of his Loyola University music industry studies degree."

Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork Media thought When It's Dark Out is an improvement from These Things Happen (2014), and that the production and guest appearances seem "like a conscious effort on G-Eazy's part to flesh out his sound into something more dynamic and less one-note." Ben Thompson from The Guardian stated that the album "could’ve hit a home run if it hadn’t worked so hard to cover all the bases", criticising the second half of the record.

Commercial performance

On December 11, 2015, after its official release, the album debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200, also debuting at number one on the Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album sold 103,000 copies in the first week in the United States. As of January 2016, the album debuted at number 6 on the UK's Top 40 R&B, making it his most successful release in the United Kingdom and the United States. On February 16, 2016, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On July 7, 2016, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).